Entirely new Christmas Lights are coming to Wellington town centre this year, supplied by West Buckland business The Festive Lighting Company – who count Edinburgh and Cardiff amongst their clients.

“New lights bring new people to the town. There’s an opportunity here to make Wellington look really special and people will embrace it,” said Cllr Ross Henley.

“It’s a damn good idea and will support the traders who’ve already put forward their own plan for enhancing the lights outside their shops,” added Cllr Janet Reed.

Town clerk Greg Dyke explained to the meeting that the new lights would be hired from Festive Lighting for an initial three-year period at an annual cost of £5309. He added that the existing Christmas lights, owned by the town council, were coming up to eight years old and needed repairs and replacements.

By also taking away storage charges the meeting felt that the new scheme would probably be cost neutral and might even save money – as well as massively enhancing the visual appeal of the town centre over the Christmas period.

“I think this is a way of moving forward and represents real value for money,” said Cllr Andy Govier.